


Old Foes Reunited

by rhodrymavelyne



Series: More Than a Jinrou [9]
Category: Shiki (Anime & Manga)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-13
Updated: 2019-03-13
Packaged: 2019-11-16 13:22:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18095117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhodrymavelyne/pseuds/rhodrymavelyne
Summary: In hopes of seeing Seishin again, Ozaki Toshio follows Natsuno's instructions and comes to a club. There he sees the last person he wanted to...





	Old Foes Reunited

**Author's Note:**

> This is the 9th part of More than a Jinrou, an ongoing story about the aftermath of what happened to Sotoba, a story which follows After the Explosion and Reunion. Yuuki Natsuno is finding out there's more to his powers than he realized, when he discovers...other ways to feed other than drinking blood. 
> 
> I don't own Shiki, but sometimes this series owns me. :)=

Perhaps the old building had once been a temple. It had been transformed into a club. Screaming adolescents offered their bare arms and necks to a man who strutted across the stage, shaking his fist at them.  
There were abrasions on many a wrist. Vampire bite marks? Or deliberate bleeding on the part of these kids, in attempt to act like they had been? Half of them had eyes heavily lined with black eye-shadow, corsets tightened to the point they couldn’t breathe, faces painted white, lips painted red. The most subdued attendees of this place looked like Shimizu Megumi. 

Why had Toshio been allowed into this club? If this hadn’t been the address Natsuno murmured to him, he would have been certain he had the wrong address. All Toshio had in common with the crowd was a black leather jacket and the hollow eyes. 

Perhaps that was enough. The bouncer at the door just nodded at him, not even asking him to pay for a ticket. 

Or perhaps Natsuno had taken care of things. 

Natsuno. Did he come to this club, hunting for more tasty prey than a worn- out, disillusioned doctor? 

Toshio searched the crowd of dancing, writhing teenagers, seeking for a slender figure with a full head of blue hair. 

“Hi, handsome.” The last voice he’d ever wanted to hear purred into his ear, filled with dangerous friendliness. “Glad you could make it.”

“Tatsumi.” Toshio jerked away from the tall, muscular figure with the distinctive blue ears sticking out from matching hair. 

“You remembered my name, sensei.” Tatsumi grinned a shark-like grin. “I’m touched.”

“As if I could ever forget.” No, not this one. Not the monster who’s charmed his way into his home and turned it into hell. “I’m surprised to see you still alive.”

“And I’m surprised to see you looking so fit.” Tatsumi waved a hand with jaunty cheer, although there was a hard glitter in his eyes. “All things considered.”  
“You mean since becoming a shiki’s regular snack?” Toshio grinned right back at him. “What can I say? My vampire is special.”

“There’s no denying that.” The smile died on Tatsumi’s lips. “It’s because of him we’re here now.” 

The music pounded around them, lights flashing, streaking across the jinrou’s face, the dancing kids. No one crowded Tatsumi or himself. Everyone allowed them a measure of space upon the dance floor.

“Yuuki Natsuno has been quite eloquent in his pleas. He convinced us to allow you to meet with Seishin-sensei.” Tatsumi faced Toshio amidst the roving spotlights, seeking out the angry fists, the angry dances, the vein throbbing on the vampire’s temple. “We, however, chose the time and place it would happen.”

“We? Who’s we?” Toshio demanded. “Do you have Seishin? Are you keeping him from me?” 

“We are Sunako and myself. You remember Kirishiki Sunako? Or perhaps you never met her. She remembers you. You killed someone very dear to her.” The blue in Tatsumi’s eyes darkened to bloody violet. “You, however, were once very dear to Seishin-sensei. I can tell by his pain, his silence on the subject of you.” Tatsumi looked Toshio up and down. “Natsuno is convinced it would help if the two of you talked. Convinced it might heal your broken bond.”

“Is he, now?” Images flickered in his mind of Natsuno’s shadowed face in the bedroom, the quiet questions he’d asked about Seishin. “He can be quite the idealist.”

“I agree.” Tatsumi lowered his eyelids, hiding the expression in his glittering orbs. 

It wasn’t fast enough. Toshio caught the once over, gliding over his mouth, eyes, chin, neck, torso, darting for a moment to the lower regions. 

“It’s you.” He kept his voice steady, trying to hide his disbelief. “You’re the one Natsuno keeps leaving me in the middle of the night for.”

“Does he? I suppose I should be grateful Natsuno returns to me willingly…now.” Tatsumi raised his lashes to reveal glittering, golden eyes. They’d changed colors, not that anyone in this club would notice. “I had to force blood down his throat just to keep him at my side.”

“You bastard.” Rage kindled in the embers of Toshio’s anger, coursing through him with an energy he hadn’t felt since Sotoba burned. “Why did you do that?”

“In order to make sure he survived. Didn’t he promise you every shiki would be dead, including himself?” Tatsumi kept his molten yellow gaze upon the mortal doctor. “It took all the strength I possessed to stop him from keeping that promise.”

“If that’s true, your strength isn’t much to speak of.” Toshio bit his lower lip. “When he found me, the first thing he did was offer me a stake. He begged me to finish him off with it.”

“Only you didn’t.” Tatsumi lifted the corner of his mouth in a mocking smile. “I suppose I should be grateful to you, Ozaki-sensei, even if you’re acting like a typical vampire victim.” Tatsumi tapped a hand against his chest. “Loyal to your master.”

“And you’re acting very untypical of the ruthless enemy I came to hate during your fatal duration in Sotoba.” Toshio made Tatsumi a mocking little half bow. “I suppose I should be grateful to you, Tatsumi-san.”

“Why shouldn’t I be merciful? Natsuno is mine now.” Tatsumi threw his shoulders back, drawing up an extra inch, so he was taller than Toshio. “He’ll be mine long after he’s drained you dry.”

“Will he?” Toshio stretched out, feeling the grin twist at his lips. “If you expect Natsuno to act in a predictable fashion, you don’t know him at all.”

“I can’t argue with that.” Once more, Tatsumi looked Toshio up and down. “You’ve fed Natsuno. What’s more, you’ve given him a purpose. I appreciate those things, even if I still detest you.” The jinrou sighed, relaxing his shoulders. “I’m still getting used to you not being my enemy.”

“Once more, the feeling is mutual.” Toshio lowered his eyelashes, allowed a bitter laugh to escape from between his teeth. “Agreeing this much with you is truly annoying. I haven’t forgiven you. Not for anything.”

“I’m glad we understand each other, Ozaki-sensei.” Tatsumi moved a little closer to Toshio under the flashing lights. “It gives me hope you won’t be too…difficult when you’re reunited with Seishin-sensei.”

“Seishin is here?” Toshio whirled, glancing in all directions. 

Tatsumi fit in this nightclub. Natsuno could if he chose to, but Seishin? He’d always been a person of books and quiet places where he could be alone with his own thoughts. The fact that he might be here, waiting for Toshio was ludicrous. 

“See what I mean?” Tatsumi let out a sigh. “All I had to do was mention his name and your heart started skipping an angry beat.”

“Why do you assume I’m going to be the difficult one?” Toshio glowered at Tatsumi. “You and your kind were the ones who started everything.”

“While you and your kind finished everything in the most bloodthirsty way possible, but why am I surprised?” Tatsumi waved a dismissive hand at the club. “You’re human.” The jinrou lowered his blue eyebrows while his eyes shifted to a reddish hue. “Natsuno is not, but you've seduced him into thinking your pain is his.”

“I never blamed Natsuno for any of it.” Toshio bit his lip, swallowing something sour. It definitely was not guilt. “All he and I ever did was try to survive.” 

“Funny. That’s exactly what Sunako was trying to do.” Tatsumi looked down his nose at Toshio. “Seishin-san understands this. You and Sunako each played a part in destroying his prison.”

“His prison?” Toshio let out a sharp, bitter laugh, only it choked in his throat. Memories came swimming to the surface of Seishin crying out that they were more than just vessels for their family. It had only been a few years later that he’d taken a blade to his wrist. 

Perhaps Sotoba along with Seishin’s life had been a prison. Trapping him and cutting him off from the freedom he craved. 

“It’s one of the few things Seishin-sensei and Natsuno have in common.” Blue lights settled on Tatsumi’s troubled face. “They crave freedom as much as they do life or blood.”

Freedom. It was something Toshio had never wished for, not really. Much as he disliked his father, the old man had been an obstacle, someone to strive to outdo. To become a better doctor than he’d ever been. To save more lives than he ever had. 

The smiles of the various people, seeing them rally had been a reward in itself. Until they started dying. Until he’d found himself helpless, unable to save them. Until delivering death had been the only way to save lives. 

It hadn’t been until Tatsumi and the shiki came that Sotoba had turned into hell. It wasn’t until his memories were tinged red with blood and betrayal that Toshio wanted to escape. 

“He never wanted to be a monk or to surpass his father.” Toshio rubbed his head, marveling at how his oldest, most precious friend had concealed himself behind a courteous mask. “Seishin wished to free of all that.”

“Are you only figuring this out now?” Tatsumi rolled his eyes. “I’m beginning to see why he chose Sunako despite the close relationship with you.” 

That stung far more than the blow to his back had.  
“Is that what you think?” Toshio bared his dull, too human teeth at the jinrou. “A group of predators who kidnapped and killed countless people are somehow superior to me, just because I didn’t spot the discontent behind his serene facade?”

“Seishin doesn’t expect the shiki to be anything more than what they are.” Tatsumi lifted his hand. “He might expect more of his oldest friend, someone who dedicated himself to saving lives.” 

Swifter than Toshio’s eye could follow, let alone react, Tatsumi wrapped his fingers around the mortal doctor’s throat. 

“It would be so easy to kill you,” Tatsumi muttered in a dark, dangerous undertone. “I warn you, sensei. If you hurt Sunako, Seishin, or Natsuno any more than you already have, I will.”

Toshio couldn’t answer. Not with those fingers digging into his windpipe. 

“Tatsumi, stop.” A slender hand, half the size of Tatsumi’s pressed itself against the jinrou. 

The big, blue-haired vampire froze, but his fingers eased up just a little, allowing Toshio to breathe. He gazed down at the hand along with the slim arm it was attached to, only to fix his attention on the delicate face of the vampire boy who owned it. 

Yuuki Natsuno met Tatsumi’s eyes with a fierce, implacable gentleness. 

Ah, Natsuno, Toshio thought, studying the trembling lips, trying to stay so still, so composed. What happened to you? What made you care about this creature? You used to hate him as much as I do.

What happened was Tatsumi’s blood forced down Natsuno’s throat. It appeared to be as effective on other jinrou as it was on humans. 

At least Natsuno wasn’t about to let Tatsumi throttle him. 

“Let him go.” Blue eyes tinged with bloody violet locked with Tatsumi’s. “You agreed to this.”

“I did.” Tatsumi’s face twisted into a grimace, but he set Toshio back on his feet. “This human is yours now, Natsuno. You’re a bit too lenient with him.” The jinrou looked down at his rival, eyebrows bristling. “He’s got way too much attitude for one of our victims.” 

“Too much for you to handle?” Toshio swayed, yet he managed a smirk. “My boy could really get to you, if you’re not careful.”

“He’s not your boy,” Tatsumi growled. “Don’t get cocky, human, just because you seduced one of us into supporting your massacre.”

“Natsuno is not one of you,” Toshio snarled back. “He never will be, no matter how much blood you pour down his throat.”

Jinrou and mortal glowered at each other under the flashing lights. 

“Enough!” Natsuno kept one hand on Tatsumi while pushing the other against Toshio’s chest. “Stop acting as if I wasn’t right here!”

Tatsumi scowled, ducked his head, and his ears drooped. It was almost cute. Not that Toshio would admit it. 

“You’re here to see Seishin.” Natsuno locked his blue eyes upon him. “Aren’t you?”

“This doesn’t look like the sort of place Seishin would come to.” Toshio shook his head, gestured to the writhing, gyrating figures. “I suppose no one would notice if you fed in such a place.”

“True.” Tatsumi bared his teeth at Toshio in a smile. “I keep trying to convince Seishin-sensei and Sunako of this, but neither one are comfortable here.”

“Kirishiki Sunako.” The name tasted sour in his mouth. “She’s with Seishin now.”  
“In a manner of speaking. Your Seishin risked his life, protecting her from the violent humans you sent after her.” Tatsumi lifted one of his eyebrows. “If they were human. I suspect the owner of that liquour store was an ogre.”

“Ookawa-san.” Funny to remember him, hitting his son. His son, who’d returned to kill Toshio’s mother, only to be staked by his father. Toshio shut his eyes. “Seishin escaped with Kirishiki Sunako.” 

“Didn’t we all escape, in spite of one another?” Tatsumi glanced over at Natsuno, who scowled. The expression didn’t have the force Toshio would have expected. 

Tatsumi truly had gotten to his boy. Bile rose in Toshio’s throat, mingled with anger. 

“Toshio.” Natsuno dug his fingers into his shirt. “Do you want to fight? Or talk? Particularly to Seishin?”

Seishin. An image of his lips parted, green eyes with horror as they beheld Toshio covered with blood. 

Would you be horrified now, Seishin? Or would the sight make you hungry? Once again, he recalled the car speeding away. Seishin’s profile, turning ever so slightly, to reveal the darkness in his eye. 

“Seishin always kept his distance even when he was close by.” The words spilled from his lips. Toshio pressed a hand against Natsuno’s. “Will it make any different, talking to him now?”

For the first time in months, Toshio wanted a cigarette. Badly.

Natsuno didn’t reply, just tightened his fingers around Toshio’s. He leaned forward to touch his forehead against the mortal doctor’s. 

“Sunako was the same way.” Tatsumi looked away from jinrou and mortal, up at the lights on the stage. “Perhaps this was the secret of Seishin-sensei’s bond with her.” He glanced down.

For a moment his eyes met Toshio’s. There was no malice within them, only a weary sympathy. 

Right. More likely this was just another way to mess with him. Well, two could play at this game. 

“They connect with each other in a way they never could with us, eh?” Toshio leaned his head back, exposing his neck. 

Natsuno tensed a bit, a quiver running through his frame. Tatsumi appeared to share the same tension. It rippled through both jinrou like a current.

Yes, Toshio was being a tease. All this young flesh writhing on the dance floor made him feel old and replaceable. It was good to be wanted, even if it was just as a temporary snack. 

How low Ozaki-sensei of Sotoba had sunk. 

“Toshio.” Natsuno ran a hand through his hair. Compassion replaced the flare up of hunger in his eyes. “There’s no need to play these games.” A slight smile quivered over his lips. “We're here by choice. All of us.”

“And we all share each other.” Toshio fixed his gaze upon Tatsumi. “You and I were already sharing Seishin, just as we share Natsuno.”

Natsuno stiffened, frowned, looked like he might protest, only to bite his lip. 

“Oh, our little Natsuno isn't as good at keeping his distance as Sunako and Seishin-sensei are.” Tatsumi gazed at the other jinrou from under lowered eyelashes. “This is why he tries so very hard not to care. To push everyone away from him.” 

Natsuno dropped his hand from Toshio and turned to glower at Tatsumi. “I told you to stop talking as if I wasn’t here.”

Ah, Tatsumi, Toshio thought. You cannot resist pushing Natsuno’s buttons. Perhaps it is because you, too, have begun to care?

Tatsumi’s upper ears drooped again. He peeked out at Toshio from under his lashes. “I think you understand this as well as I do, sensei.” 

“Perhaps I do. Just what do you intend to do about it, Tatsumi?” Toshio locked his gaze with the older jinrou’s. “Are we still enemies?”

“Allies for now.” Natsuno murmured. “Be a grudging ally if you wish, but try to be one long enough to get what you want.”

“Well? Are we grudging allies?” Toshio managed a lopsided grin. “For a while?”

“Who knows? We have one thing in common, sensei.” Tatsumi shifted his gaze to Natsuno, a smile playing at the ends of his mouth. “We’re utterly maddened by the same boy, yet we want to do what we can for him. In our twisted ways.” 

A blush rose in Natsuno’s cheeks. He looked down, away from both of his lovers, unable to respond to the compliment. 

Now that was just plain cute. 

“Very true.” Toshio allowed the grin to spread across his lips. For the first time, it didn’t feel like a twisted grimace. “I still haven’t forgiven you for killing my wife or sucking the life out of Sotoba.” Toshio bowed his head. “I especially haven’t forgiven you for stealing Seishin from me.”

“Well, now is your chance to steal him back.” Tatsumi flickered a glance at the younger jinrou. “Natsuno seems to think you can. Are you game, sensei?” 

He extended a hand to wave towards the back of the club. 

Toshio turned in that direction, Natsuno at his side. The three of them made their way through the dancers under the lights. 

He was game. At least as game as Ozaki Toshio could ever be at this point. 

Natsuno lay a hand on his arm and gave him a comforting squeeze. 

At least he wasn’t alone.


End file.
